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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26255290">Going Down Swinging</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeriiin/pseuds/aeriiin'>aeriiin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Overwatch (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood and Injury, Character Study, Mission Gone Wrong, Not a shippy thing but something I've wanted to write, Other</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:33:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,031</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26255290</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeriiin/pseuds/aeriiin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When news articles wrote about her, they liked to claim she became D.Va when she won her first e-sports championship in high school and became the #1 ranked Mecha Guardian V player in the world. </p><p>Her friend Dae-hyun liked to claim that she became D.Va when she blew up his hoverbike to win a race.</p><p>But to Hana Song, she had always been D.Va. </p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Going Down Swinging</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Genji had suspected something was amiss from the start, when the team burst into the warehouse only to find it abandoned. </p><p> </p><p>“Stay on your guard,” he had commented as the team searched through the various crates and boxes, all labeled with Talon insignia and all completely emptied out. “It could be a trap.”</p><p> </p><p>Genji had been right of course. Hana hated it when he was right.</p><p> </p><p>His suspicions didn't help him much in the end. A powerful taser blast from behind was all it took to send Genji crumpling to the ground. In that instant, a number of Talon agents had them surrounded and began to open fire.</p><p> </p><p>Reinhardt was the first to act. He rushed forward to shield the downed ninja while Lena and Lúcio moved to pull him behind cover and get him back up. Three Talon agents tried to close in on them, and were stopped by Brigitte and her own shield slamming into the lot of them. Her mace whipped outward, and smashed into two of the closest soldiers, sending them back into a series of crates. </p><p> </p><p>Hana’s defense matrix lasted as long as it could, as bullets laid into the MEKA, rattling her from the inside. With a shout, the pilot swung Tokki’s arms wildly to batter away the encroaching crowd, fusion cannons firing all the while.  </p><p> </p><p>The hull pitched to the side. On screen, she saw the cannons redline. A moment later and it was the boosters, Hana feeling the explosion rock her mech from behind and cause her to stumble forward. </p><p> </p><p>A warning suddenly flashed. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> WARNING: Critical Damage. Ejection Imminent. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Hana watched the twin hard-light shields of the knights take round after round. Lena was zipping about and holding fire, but took a nasty shot to the leg that made her retreat behind cover. Lúcio was still trying to get Genji up and running, his music blaring as loud as it would go. “C’mon, up and at ‘em, Genji, show ain’t over yet.”</p><p> </p><p>The warning flashed again.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> WARNING: Critical Damage. Ejection Imminent. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Hana swore as she grabbed her light gun from above the screen. Three were still up, but who knew how many were coming. Their attention was split though, too busy firing round after merciless round at Reinhardt and Brigitte’s barriers. She watched the squire’s shield suddenly crack, then shatter moments later, Reinhardt grunting as he shifted to angle Brigitte into the corner they were backed up into.</p><p> </p><p>“Brigitte, get them the ship! We’ll follow behind!” He cried out, nodding to the three behind him. Lena began to protest, but the squire grabbed her arm and shook her head. </p><p> </p><p>“No time, Lena, we’re going!” Hana watched as Brigitte nodded towards her mentor, ushering the others ahead of her. Lúcio and Lena hoisted the cyborg, and together made a beeline towards the exit.</p><p> </p><p>Tokki’s hull began to heat up as the meters on screen all flashed red. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> WARNING: Critical Damage. Ejection Imminent. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>She took a deep breath. Ten seconds. Hana would give herself ten seconds to eject and rush behind cover with the others. Reinhardt’s barrier wasn’t going to last long, but at least she’d be protected. Without her MEKA, she wasn’t much use. She had to run. </p><p> </p><p>Exhaling, Hana hit the eject button and began to sprint the moment her feet hit the ground.</p><p> </p><p>The pilot fired rapidly, missing several but landing at least two on one of the Talon agents ahead. They fell with a shout, and the others spun around to face her. The one on the right raised their gun to fire, only to have Reinhardt’s giant maul of a hammer slam into their side and send them flying. </p><p> </p><p>As Hana tried to dart around the last soldier, she felt a hand grab hold of her hair and pull back sharply, her light gun slipping from her grip. She yelped, squirmed, and kicked, her hands flying up to claw at the one holding her aloft. </p><p> </p><p>Then, the barrel of a gun poked her ribs, and she froze.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, weapons down and no one moves,” the Talon soldier yanked her up, their fingers digging in painfully to her scalp. “Or the kid gets it.”</p><p> </p><p>The team were deathly silent, all eyes on them.</p><p> </p><p>“Let her <em> go, </em>” came the hauntingly quiet voice of Reinhardt. His shield down, he gripped his hammer until the metal creaked. “Now.”</p><p> </p><p>Hana cried out as the soldier readjusted their grip to pull her back and into an armlock, the gun now pointed at the others. “I won’t say it again, old man. Drop the hammer.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t listen to them, big guy, I’m fine- Ah!” The grip around her tightened and the gun was back on her.</p><p> </p><p>The pilot felt sick to her stomach as Reinhardt tensed before letting the mighty maul clatter to the ground with a resounding boom. </p><p> </p><p>“Good choice.”</p><p> </p><p>They turned the gun and fired at Reinhardt until their clip ran dry. The man cried out in pain as bullets pierced his armor, falling to the ground himself on one knee, and Hana screamed.</p><p> </p><p>“No!” She tried to weasel out of the iron grip, but to no avail. “I’m gonna kick your ass, you son of--” </p><p> </p><p>“Quit squawking, kid.” The Talon soldier, a cocky sort who wasn’t even donned in a full set of white and red armor, laughed as they lowered the emptied gun, and reached for their next clip of ammo on their belt. Their helmet obscured their face, but Hana could just imagine their stupid smirk.</p><p> </p><p>“All that armor makes folks like you and that big fella there feel like real heroes, huh? But take away the ‘bot, and what are ya? Just a scared little girl who thinks this is all some game.”</p><p> </p><p>Hana glared, and a wash of anger began to flood her veins. </p><p> </p><p>When news articles wrote about her, they liked to claim she became D.Va when she won her first e-sports championship in high school and became the #1 ranked <em> Mecha Guardian V </em> player in the world. </p><p> </p><p>Her friend Dae-hyun liked to claim that she became D.Va when she blew up his hoverbike to win a race. “That’s the moment you became the reckless knucklehead that you are now,” he had told her with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>But to Hana Song, she had always been D.Va. </p><p> </p><p>Because D.Va was more than just an e-sports champion who played to win. D.Va was more than a mech pilot who fought bravely for her country. D.Va was a fighter, through and through. Any challenge she faced, she’d face it head on and wouldn’t flinch. She never shied from a fight, not once. </p><p> </p><p>And if she <em> was </em>going down, she was going down swinging.</p><p> </p><p>With a shout- no, with a lion’s <em> roar </em>, Hana sank her teeth into the arm of her captor. Bit ‘til she tasted copper. ‘Til she felt skin break under her teeth. Heard the Talon agent drop the gun as they screamed. </p><p> </p><p>A swift blow to her head pulled her off, splitting her lip. Hana didn’t stop though. She swung her foot back into their gut. She clawed at their arm, she bit them <em> again </em> and ripped herself free from their grasp, feeling her scalp burn from the hairs yanked out. She stumbled to the ground, and swiveled back to stare at them.</p><p> </p><p>“Why you little-!”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t let them finish, slamming herself into their chest. She tackled down to the ground and wailed on them with her fists. She screamed, she shouted. She felt her arm pop at one of the punches she threw, and felt a finger crack when it collided with their jaw.</p><p> </p><p>A punch to her face busted something in her nose, knocked her off the soldier. A swift kick to her gut made her spit blood. </p><p> </p><p>Hana knew it was messy combat; no form or self-control. She didn’t care. A fire was running through her, burning hot, and her body was operating on pure instinct. </p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t until she was able to grab her light gun from off the ground and fire three times into their chest, when she no longer saw them get up, only then did she stop. Her breathing was heavy, her face undoubtedly a mess with sweat and blood and tangled hair sticking to her cheek and forehead. </p><p> </p><p>She turned back towards her teammates, who stared at her with bated breath, and Hana let out a battle cry that echoed through the warehouse. </p><p> </p><p>The team’s cheers resonated in the empty room and continued all the way until they boarded the Orca.</p><p> </p><p>--</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“She was bloody incredible!” Lena boasted at the briefing table, practically standing on her chair as she ranted and raved. “She was all like, ‘Arrrrgh!’ and the Talon guy was all, ‘Noooo!’ and we were just--!”</p><p> </p><p>“I think they got the point, Lena.” Brigitte interrupted, patting the shoulder of the bandaged Reinhardt next to her. “Honestly, if it weren’t for her, Reinhardt here would have been a lot worse off.”</p><p> </p><p>The Crusader laughed, then winced as he gripped his sides. “I tried to tell the poor soldier to let her go!”</p><p> </p><p>From the front of the room, Commander Winston smiled at the team. “I’m glad to see you all in such good spirits, all things considered. I apologize for the faulty lead, but it seems Talon underestimated us, too!”  He turned towards Lúcio, slightly less jovial as he asked, “How was Genji when you dropped him off with Dr. Ziegler?”</p><p> </p><p>“Still out of it.” Lúcio let out a huff and sat back in his chair. “She thinks the taser might’ve fried a circuit or two, some kind of sensory-relay thing, but she seemed pretty confident he’d be back up in no time.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s good to hear then.” He paused, and looked around the room. “And what of Miss Song’s injuries? Where is she now?”</p><p> </p><p>“Right here, big guy!”</p><p> </p><p>The room turned towards the doorway and several gasped at the sight of the girl in question.</p><p> </p><p>And a sight she was. While most of her injuries were treated on the flight in, her nose still sported a nasty bruise and her right arm rested in a simple sling. Her split lip was healed, but the cut was still red and raw, as was the skin underneath the bandage over her cheek. She favored her left side as she walked, hunched only slightly, but was standing nevertheless. </p><p> </p><p>However, no one was staring at her bandages so much as they were at her <em> hair </em>. </p><p> </p><p>Hana ran a hand through her now pixie-short brown hair nervously, feeling a few of loose hairs falling as the stunned silence became deafening. </p><p> </p><p> “What, is it bad or something?”</p><p> </p><p>Lena, thankfully, gained the ability to speak first. “Are you kidding, love? You look great!” In a flash, she was beside the MEKA pilot and squishing her cheeks together gleefully, turning her head to get a better look at the new haircut. “My gosh, it really is different, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>Coming up behind Lena, Lúcio squinted. “You do it yourself? Thought your hand was busted.”</p><p> </p><p>“Got Hanzo to do it, ” Hana mumbled between Lena’s hands. Shooing off the excitable time-traveler’s grip, she rolled her eyes. “Trust me, I know my limits. Dae-hyun still has pictures from the last time I tried to cut my own hair and it is <em> not </em>pretty.”</p><p> </p><p>Lúcio laughed. “Oh, now I gotta see that!”</p><p> </p><p>“You are okay, though, right?” Brigitte suddenly voiced, standing up from her chair. “You disappeared right after the ship landed, and didn’t come to the meeting like you usually do. We all got kind of worried there for a bit.”</p><p> </p><p>Hana looked about the room, seeing everyone’s happy expressions tinged with concern, and gave a small grin.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, yeah, shoot. Sorry ‘bout that, guys.” The MEKA pilot cast her gaze aside. “I just had to... do some thinking, you know? Had a lot of my mind after that mission.”</p><p> </p><p>“And now?” Reinhardt asked carefully. “How are you feeling now?” </p><p> </p><p>She rubbed the base of her neck, the short hairs a new sensation for her, but not an unwelcome one. It felt… different. But good. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Freeing.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>She smiled and looked back up.</p><p> </p><p>“Like a fighter.”</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! I wanted to try doing something a little different in terms of fic stuff, as I feel not every fic has to be about a relationship. I really love D.Va as a character and have wanted to write this for some time tbh!! Lemme know what y'all's thoughts are in the comments!</p><p>As always, you can find me over at my <a href="http://aerihead.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a> and my <a href="https://twitter.com/aerihead/">twitter</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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